coevan
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:huh: I am on a cruise ship Jan 2, and would prefer to use a private dive shop. Please refer the best dive shops in Cayman. The cruise shore excursions are very pricey, somewhat chaotic, and usually shorter then indys.
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Well, the "best" is kinda hard to answer without some criteria - what's "best" for you?
Since you are only here for several hours - approx. 8:30 AM to 4 PM - you probably want a dive op near the cruise ship terminal. The closest (which I would recommend) are Don Foster's and Divers Down. Don Foster's caters to cruise shippers and may well hold the dive boat if you are late - they leave at 9 AM. Another option would be to go to Eden Rock (a short walk from the terminal) and shore dive there.
Most locals consider the "best" diving on Grand Cayman to be found in the East End (check with Ocean Frontiers) or on the North Wall (try DiveTech). Considering the length of time you are here, you can't do either of those. Sorry about that! Come for longer next time.
Since you are only here for several hours - approx. 8:30 AM to 4 PM - you probably want a dive op near the cruise ship terminal. The closest (which I would recommend) are Don Foster's and Divers Down. Don Foster's caters to cruise shippers and may well hold the dive boat if you are late - they leave at 9 AM. Another option would be to go to Eden Rock (a short walk from the terminal) and shore dive there.
Most locals consider the "best" diving on Grand Cayman to be found in the East End (check with Ocean Frontiers) or on the North Wall (try DiveTech). Considering the length of time you are here, you can't do either of those. Sorry about that! Come for longer next time.
cowjazz
Contributor
For a cruiseship friendly schedule, try Seasports. Visit them at http://www.bestdivingingrandcayman.com/ . I used them while on a cruise last January, and had two great dives.
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Agree with Alex777--unlikely your schedule will allow for going out with the best shops, which would include Red Baron (http://www.redbarondivers.com/cgi-bin/connect/index.cgi), Dive Tech (http://www.divetech.com/). Ocean Frontiers (http://www.oceanfrontiers.com/) and Neptune's Divers (http://www.neptunesdivers.com/). Still, couldn't hurt to contact them.
Best of luck and Happy holidays.
DocVikingo
Best of luck and Happy holidays.
DocVikingo
foreverblowingbubbles
Guest
You might also try AmbassadorDivers (www.ambassadordivers.com). The owner, Jason, runs a small boat (usually about 6 divers), so he might be able to accomodate your schedule. He operates off of 7 mile beach, it's a straightforward cab ride from Georgetown.
Have a great time!
Have a great time!
DocVikingo:
Indeed do contact Neptune's. They definitely work with cruise ship schedules.
And while your schedule probabaly will not accomodate boat diving with DiveTech, their shore dive locations can easily be done to fit your schedule.
dive ladder
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Try the guys at ambassadordivers. Small boat and friendly staff.
www.ambassadordivers.com
www.ambassadordivers.com
flyhimd
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I just did a Stingray City dive though Diver's Down while on a Royal Caribbean cruise on December 19th and it worked out well. Had to be at the dive shop by 11:30am, which left plenty of time to get off the ship, walk around a bit, etc. Staff were friendly and professional, and there were six people altogether. Boat was in good condition, and they had a large trash-barrel sized rinse tank for cameras onboard. The briefing was well done, complete with a stuffed animal replica of a stingray.
The boat anchored well away from the cattle boats the cruise ships tend to arrange, so we had the local population of stingrays to ourselves. The dive itself is one of those "trophy dives" that you just have to do sometime in your life (this was my one time)...it was interesting for the first 15 minutes; after that, it got boring quickly.
Through Divers Down, you can also rent equipment and shore-dive the area behind the shop...the wreck of the Cali is the feature attraction. That gives you a lot of flexibility, since it doesn't matter when you arrive.
We also arranged our own diving on the cruise in Mahahual (Blue Ocean Safari...a wonderful little operation with wonderful people and a perfect location on the beach), and in Cozumel with BlueXTSea (again, a superb operation). In Belize, we used the Royal Caribbean ship excusion just because of the logistics (they picked up up at the ship and dropped you off afterwards...avoiding the tenders). Large groups from our Legend of the Seas (18 on one boat, 20 on the other) but it was fine as big-boat ops go.
The boat anchored well away from the cattle boats the cruise ships tend to arrange, so we had the local population of stingrays to ourselves. The dive itself is one of those "trophy dives" that you just have to do sometime in your life (this was my one time)...it was interesting for the first 15 minutes; after that, it got boring quickly.
Through Divers Down, you can also rent equipment and shore-dive the area behind the shop...the wreck of the Cali is the feature attraction. That gives you a lot of flexibility, since it doesn't matter when you arrive.
We also arranged our own diving on the cruise in Mahahual (Blue Ocean Safari...a wonderful little operation with wonderful people and a perfect location on the beach), and in Cozumel with BlueXTSea (again, a superb operation). In Belize, we used the Royal Caribbean ship excusion just because of the logistics (they picked up up at the ship and dropped you off afterwards...avoiding the tenders). Large groups from our Legend of the Seas (18 on one boat, 20 on the other) but it was fine as big-boat ops go.
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